El Clásico matches are the two biggest football games in the Spanish La Liga season.

These are the annual league matches between rivals football teams Barca and Real Madrid. Tickets for the 'Clásico' are in very high demand, so order well in advance.

The nickname 'El Clásico' refers only to games between FC Barcelona (nicknamed La Blaugrana) and Real Madrid (nicknamed Los Blancos) in the Spanish league called 'La Liga.'

El Clásico is played twice a season - once at Camp Nou in Barcelona and once at Bernabeu in Madrid. There are also often other Clásico games when the two teams meet in the Copa del Rey or the Supercopa.

The Clásico games were for many years also the battle of football legends Ronaldo and Messi which ends this season after Ronaldo transferred to Juventus.

However the Clásico is still one of the most ancipated and watched football games in the world and one of the most analyzed.

The first ever Clásico game was on 13th May 1902 in Madrid in the semi-final of the tournament Copa Coronación celebrating the crowning of King Alfonso XIII.

This was also the first football competition involving teams from different parts of Spain. The first Clásico in 1902 was won by FC Barcelona 1-3.

The Spanish league La Liga was not set up until 1929 and since then Barcelona and Real Madrid have faced each other twice in every Liga season.

Both teams were inaugural members of the Spanish football league and both are one of only three teams, who have never been relegated from the Primera División - first division of la liga.